good morning, everyone. i'm tamron hall. this is "newsnation." developing now -- ♪ definitely an entrance you don't see every today. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell making a dramatic entrance at cpac pumping up the audience entering with a rifle in hand and bon jovi blasting in the background. he then handed the gun to

outgoing senator tom coburn. meantime governor chris christie whose office is still the focus of an ongoing investigation, will speak in a few minute from now. the cpac conference in maryland. the largest most important gatheren of conservatives of the year. politico calls this event a cattle call of likely president atcontenders. this year there will be no few are than nine potential candidates taking that stage including tea party favorite senator ted cruz who kicked off the event a few hours ago. >> so all of us remember president dole, and president mccain and president romney. they're good men, they're decent men, but when you don't stand and draw a clear distinction when you don't stand for principle, democrats celebrate. >> chris christie's invitation to speak at cpac assistants in

stark contrast to last year when he was very publicly snubbed by the event's planners a snub viewed as a rebuke for christie's praise for president obama after sandy. according to a new poll christie has a lot of work to do to win over conservatives. 30% of republicans say they would definitely not vote for christie. that, by the way is the highest negative among all potential gop candidates, according to the poll with that in that better, many anticipate the speech that christie will give in a few minutes will be full of red meat for the most conservative. we will talk much more about the entrance made by senator mitch mcconnell just a short time ago with that rifle in hand. mark murray will join us to give his perspective on what's going on but now new developments in the crisis of ukraine. president obama has ordered a freezing of assets and ban on travel to theist by those

involved in russia's military incursion in the crimea region. meantime in rome, secretary of state john kerry met for the second time in as many days with his russian counterpart, sergei lavrov. they talked about 40 minutes but no progress was reported. secretary kerry also med with the foreign ministers of britain, germany, france and italy. in ukraine, new violence overnight where pro-russian activists briefly took over a government building. now officials in crimea have announced plans to hold a referendum in ten days on whether crimea should separate from ukraine and become part of russia. nbc 'ian williams is in the ukrainian capital of kiev with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, tamron, today's diplomacy certain to be overshadowed by the latest news of crimea, but the recently stored is to hold a

referendum with a simple question, whether they want to be part of ukraine or the russian federation. now, that's certain to be seen in the west as yet another step towards a formal annexation of crimea by moscow. now, russian foreign minister sergei lavrov is unlikely to see it that way. he's already decided the russian troops occupiesing crimea. he's described the soldiers as being a self-defense force over which russia has no influence. the attention today will be on a meeting of eu leaders in brussels. they have been very reluctant to back stiff sanctions against moscow. they have a lot more to lose than the u.s. they come up with a package of economic support, but have been very wary of sanctions. moscow, of course, will be watching that closely. so will washington. whether or not the latest developments from crimea concentrates minds, we'll have to see, tamron. we want to take you back to

the developing news out of the maryland where the cpac conference is under way. mark murray is standing by. he is in washington. mark, are you there? >> hey, tamron. >> let's talk about first of after senator mitch mcconnell. we know he will be in a big political battle in the midterm, but he walked in entered the room with a reichel in hand handing it to tom coburn and actually made a plea focusing rather than on the party, focusing on his own personal race. c'mon, give me your perspective on this. >> actually pretty good theatrics. my colleague made this interesting point -- if you thought you were going to get boos from activists coming out with a gun is a good way to stop any kind of bos that might be coming your bay. mitch mcconnell is in a primary

challenge against matt biven that primary taking place in may. this is not his normal crowd. he's not normally the most -- and really not a bad way to defuse the boos. >> it may not get the crowd there booing, but did point the light to how desperate he may be and may show vulnerable on what he may see as a weakness. even the president of the nra, i don't think since charlton heston have we seen somebody stand behind a podium with a gun. >> people brought up the charlton heston comparison that's been a very long time ago, but it's important to note who the cpac conference is, this is the most conservative many college students are in attendance, and a lot of people been big rand paul fans, and it's noting that his former campaign manager is serving as

mitch mcconnell's campaign manager. is the polls show that mitch mcconnell does seem to have the advantage here. maybe his biggest worry -- >> what are the biggest problems regarding conservatives? what are they most critical of? >> just being part of washington, d.c. >> the establishment? >> yes, absolutely. and, you know no one is more establishment republican than mitch mcconnell? he's been in washington, d.c. for a very long time. one thing you have often see is establishment republicans. their formula for success in primary races is very heated anti-obama rhetoric, and sometimes having some theatrics like we saw with the gun. >> people love a good show but i do think that it raises the question and brings attention to what you have pointed out as well, weakness within his own party among the most conserve conservative conservative.

let's transition -- and that chris christie he is going to speak within the hour. i think it's around 30% of conservatives who say they would vote for him. so he can't walk out with a rifle, but what can he do to win over that crowd? >> well, the guy guidance that we have received is chris christie will give a speech he game about a year ago, this is his normal standard script that he'll talk about how a republican governor can achieve things in a blue state. he's going to talk about they need to say what they're for not what they're against and often sometimes conservatives should get out of the business of engaging in debates that don't do the party any good and don't get to go to elections. this is what chris christie said just last year. it will be interesting to see how he is received in this audience. now, of course, he is under siege, and his administration is become rocked by scandal, but he is coming to a cpac where i

think he's hoping to get the conservative base behind him. >> but mark wasn't his can't we just get along and put the people before politics what got him in trouble with the conservatives in the first place, the sight of him with president obama after sandy when he said, listen i'm putting the people of new jersey first and not my party, is exactly why a lot of conservatives started to criticize him. if he comes in with this same kind of tone today will that be well received? or will they feel he needs to give them more to show? >> i wouldn't be surprised if he has some red meat. we've seen a lot of pokes at the media. that's a surefire way to get the crowd on your side, to start hitting the media. i'm sure the people in the christie administration aren't too kind with the tv and newspaper articles that have been about them in the last two months or so tamron. but you look at that entire lineup -- ted cruz, rand paul,

paul ryan rick santorum, chris christie is the only one who stood with the president right before election day 2012, the only one who expanded medicaid in his state. there are ideological problems that christie has with the conservative base. and i've got this note in, mark, i'm not sure if you've seen seen it. luke russert is reporting that congresswoman marsha fudge the chair, has send a note to speaker boehner, calling on him to remove congressman darrell issa as chairman of the house oversight and government reform committee as a result of this confrontation yesterday, where he cut the mike to ranking member elijah cummings yesterday during the hearing with a former head of the i.r.s. lois lerner. >> i'm not sure this move will change house speaker john boehner, but you have to look at the politics. as you and i were discussing about this yesterday, if you are

arguing this isn't political, this is a legitimate investigation, cutting off the the democrats on the committee isn't a good way to dispel a lot of those concerns and that kind of speculation. you know, also at c pac today i was hearing from paul ryan if we're in the majority we need robust debate, and again cutting off the mike of the ranking member, whether you're a democrat object republican doesn't further something like that. >> also on this letter, congresswoman fudge and the cbc is calling for boehner to take action. they're saying that issa also needs to publicly apologize for this as well. so thank you, mark, for reacting to a lot of developing and interesting news coming out of d.c. and around the area. thanks, mark. >> hey, thanks so much, tam rom. from the first person to go inside oscar pistorius' home moments after reef-- we're going to

take you live to south africa for the latest. >> it's heartbreaking for us as victims to see the true colors of pope francis. >> a new reaction to the pope's latest comments on the church's sex abuse scandal. the pope has been riding a wave of popularity, but now a new interview with francis is outraging some victims. and a legal battle happening right now over a relic from the world trade center. an atheist group says a cross should not become part of the september 11th museum. you can join our conversation morning, noon, night, because we're always checking our twitter feed. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy.

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the first-ever public description pistorius covered his face as another neighbor took the stand today johan staff, a doctor gave chilling testimony about what he saw. he says he saw pistorius weeping over reeva's body. he also described how he tried to helper. >> i remember the first thing he said when i got there was that, he said, i shot her, i thought she was a burglar, and i shot her. she had no pulse in her peck no peripheral pulse she had no breathing moments that she made.

she was clenching down on oscar's fingers as i was trying to open her airway. >> moments later he covered his ears when the doctor gave even more gruesome details about the condition of her body, saying it was obvious she was mortally wounded. joining me live from pretoria ayman mohyeldin. the doctor was the first person in the house after the shooting. do we know if he heard the gunshot and ran into the home? or was he called by oscar? how did he get in the home? >> you're absolutely right tamron, this is what makes him such an important witness. first of all, he lives directly next to oscar's house. more importantly he has a clear view from his own balcony. that night according to dr. johan stipp he was awoken in the middle of the night as a

result of three bangs he heard. that prompted him to the balcony. he heard cries for help. that rushed him to run downstairs and go into oscar's home. as you heard, he saw there inside that house on the ground her motionless body no pulse no sign of life, and oscar pleading for help. at one point one of the morse emotional scenes inside that courtroom was when he was describing oscar crying throughout the whole entire process, pleading praying to god that she does not die that night. at one point he even said that oscar was praying to god if she were to live, he would dedicate the rest of his life in the service of god. that's what made this testimony extremely important for the prosecution. not only is he a doctor, but he also served in the military and testified under oath that he knew the distinct sound a 9-millimeter pistol makes. that's exactly the type of weapon that a prosecution alleged oscar pistorius used to

shoot and kill reva steen camp. not only was it a credible witness, but more importantly he was the first so far the most intimate witness who rushed into the crime scene, saw it firsthand and was able to give that very gripping and moving testimony. >> all right. ayman mohyeldin in pretoria thank you. let mess bring in the professor. the keep testimony was pointed out earlier, but he says that when he got to the home the lights were on. we know that oscar pistorius said to investigators at the time that he never turned the lights on in that home. why would that be significant? >> it might show that pistorius is fabricating his story and has the details wrong, but it might just be a slight mistake. i don't think that means that he's lies. in fact i think this doctor on

the stand even though he was put on the witness stand by the prosecution to be against pistorius, i think the doctor's testimony actually favorite pistorius, because he testified in graphic detail about how broken up pistorius was, and praying to god that she live. that seems like a guy who really didn't want to kill her. it's possible he did, and now he's having second thoughts, but i think overall the emotional tone helps pistorius in this ironically valentine day killing. >> let me play a bit to your point what the doctor said what he saw while assessing reeva, and as he described more about oscar pistorius' demeanor. >> during that time while i was trying to ascertain if she's survivable, oscar is crying all

the time. he prayed to god to please let her live she must not die. he said at one stage while he was praying that he would dedicate his life and her life to god if she would just only live and not die that night. >> professor obviously emotional words, but how does that help his defense? i mean, to your point yes he appeared as the dr. testified to be quite upset and he said the doctor testified that he definitely wanted her to live. that does not mean that there was not anger and rage that caused him to shoot her, which will be determined by this judge. >> you're right. it could be that he intentionally deliberately killed her and now is all broken up because he's no longer as angry with her. so it all depends upon how this

judge will see it. there is also the inference that helps pistorius, that he really accidentally killed her. that's why he's broken up. this judge is known to be tough. she's the only second woman black judge in south africa. she's been known to be very tough where there's violence by men against women. >> let me ask you also some of the testimony from this doctor, i mean, that's his opinion of the scenario. would that, to the great detail that he gave be allowed in a court in the united states, or would you have likely seen more objections from the prosecution? >> no it would be allowed. i think sometimes people in the united states are overblowing the differences between our system and the south african system. there are differences, but in these evidentiary matters and inferences that can be drawn and what would be allowed, there's some great similarities. >> all right.

professor, thank you so much for your time. we greatly appreciate your analysis of what we have seen today. >> thank you. >> new evidence this winter's report-setting weather held back the country's economic growth. so it wasn't just us complaining about it being cold. it's hurt a lot of pockets. even with that bad news which regions are improving the most? we're going to break down the new details in the beige book. that is the fed survey of the economy state by state. >> the van started going deeper and deeper in the water. >> so there is new and honestly very sad and devastating information about what happened just before a florida mom drove her family into the ocean. children were rescued from that car. we have the very latest on where they are today. it is one of the story around the newsnation this morning. here's a look at what's happening today thursday march 6th. the ukrainian congress committee

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we are keeping an eye on wall street, where light now the dow is up 73 points. that's after the government reported the number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in three months. meantime the latest snapshot of this economy by the fed confirmed the severe weather during our long hard cold winter has taken a toll. the latest beige survey concluded that severe weather

held back much of the economy through much of the nation. in fact the survey mentions weather 119 separate times. while the economic activity improved in 8 of the 12 region the improvement was only modest to mott rat. boston richmond, atlanta, st. louis, minneapolis, cleveland, dallas, san francisco. the fed survey also showed economic activity declined slightly in new york and philadelphia, two regions hit hard by winter storms. joining mess live now today, columnist darrell delamay. thank you for joining. can you pull up the screen again with the modest or moderate number there? so, darrell, let's get some insight into what those cities or districts or regions have in common there. >> that's what i would call the rest of the country. the ones that were hard hit were new york and philadelphia where obviously you had severe winter storms, but you had them in

boston. minneapolis had record cold. cleveland also, and we saw that major ice storm all by cripple atlanta. is it that these cities were doing a little better economically and didn't see the hit? because they certainly fell into the winter storm -- you know, the brurcht brunt of it. >> the beauty of this beige report is based on contacts with the local regional fed banks have with local businesses. in fact, in many of these areas even though manufacturing and auto sales and so forth were depressed by the weather, many other things like software sales and telecoms help and so forth continued to grow. i think the whole point of the beige book and it's anecdotes from the regional banks is to help the fed policy makers interpret all their microeconomic data. basically to see whether is the glass half full or half empty? the feeling is that they

conclude it's half full at this point. >> to that point since ear saying glass half empty, one man's pain is another man's gain so while those cities were hit hard as a result of the winter blast, did we see any cities or states get a boost? whether it be from tourism or -- i don't know what other way you can't benefit honestly. >> not surprisingly hawaiian tourism showed a big surge. san diego had a historic capacity levels. the ski areas are doing really well. but even in the hard-hit areas, outerwear, winter gear sports goods, they all did pretty well because of the weather. >> just lastly here as i noted over 100 times the weather was mentioned, 119 separate times. this winter a report breaker and the impact that it had on our economy warranted this conversation and what you wrote as well in the "usa today" with

all the predictions we will see more severe weather like this, not to enter the debate over what some people see as a debate over climate change or not, these big winter storms likely to continue or droughts in california to have an impact on the economic growth. >> well this is something janet yellen, the new chairman of the fed said in her recent congressional testimony, that they're keeping a close eye on and they want to see whether this weather is a bump in the road or whether it's actually going to have a long-term impact. i think right now they're suspending judgment. i doubt that there would be any change in monetary policy as a result of this report but they are keeping a close eye on it. >> darrell, thank you so much for joining us today. we greatly appreciate it. >> thank you. up next, new reaction to the pope's comments about the sex abuse scandal. the pontiff said that no one has done more to stop the abuse than the church. well you can imagine that set off a firestorm of reaction. some victims are now outraged.

we'll talk live with the host of the catholic guy radio show. get his thoughts.

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] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief! with exactly a week to go before the answer ver of pope francis becoming leader of the catholic church pugh research center finds 85% of catholics in the u.s. and 66% overall have a favorable view of the pope. and 71% of the catholics feels he represents a major change in the church with 68% saying it's a change for the better but that survey comes after the pope during comments he made in a new interview, this time involving the sex abuse scandal surrounding the catholic church. the pope told an italian church that the catholic church is possibly only the public institution that acted with transparency and responsibility. nobody else did more. still the catholic church was

the only one to come under fire. those remarks were part of a wide-ranging interview that touched on several key issues including civil unions and the role imwomen in the church. the host of the catholic guy, thank you for joining us again. >> nice to see you again. >> i'm curious what your listeners and what you think of the pope's comments that the catholic church acted with transparency and responsibility and that the church is possibly the only public institution that acted that way. >> well that's sort of a trademark now of pope francis he says exactly what he thinks, whether it's controversial whether people agree or not. i think that's actually very healthy. in terms of what he really said. he is right in the sense of how much the church has done, maybe for right or wrong he wants to say the church of today is not where we were 20 years ago, thank god. some of us might say why was it in such shape 20 years ago?

but the critics of the van canned@cake lick church have a solid point to make, that there are still bishops that have not been held accountable cases still come out, and has the church done everything possible worldwide? the answer is no. so i think there's an argument for both sides. i think if i was to tell him i would have phrased that differently, he would say with a smile, okay when you are pope go ahead and phrase it the way you like. >> bauer ra blaine is with the survivors network s.n.a.p. as it is known. here was her reaction. >> it's heartbreaking for us as victims to see the true colors of pope francis, and it seems to be that he wants the same reckless and private ways of coping to continue. >> you know bhaldwhat would your

reaction to mrs. blaine and others who feel that way? >> the pope did say how terrible sex abuse is. he talked about the wounds that are inflicted. so i mean, i think we have to be very careful, especially when we talk about victims. i want to be careful with the words i use in this case. i think there is room for discussion here to say the church has made some steps, and maybe just not enough. i think that's where victims and the vatican can get together and say we've had made a little progress, we need to make a lot more. >> just quickly civil unionses the pope said marriage between a man and woman, secular states want to regulate cohabitation to maintain their issues. we need to look at different cases and evaluate them. your thoughts? >> it's great. pope francis opens conversations, he opens doors. he's a habitual door opener in everything. he's saying this is a reality. how can the church respond in loved, in charity, in kindness

to those who may feel disenfranchised. it's an honest conversation and i think a lot of us you are grateful. >> you know you're one of my favorite people in the world, but you'll have to lose that new orleans saints strategically placed helmet behind you if you ever want to come on again. >> i'm sorry. i'm in new orleans this week. it's mardi gras we're celebrating in a catholic way. >> put up some beads, take down the helmet. >> i will do so. >> we do enjoy listening to your radio show. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. right now a bill that would expand florida's stand your ground law is moving forward in the state's house. it would make it legal to fire warning shots inself defense this as the woman who perhaps inspired that bill, marisa alexander, could have her sentence now tripled from 20 to 60 years for firing a warning shot. we go live to florida to get an update on her case.

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a torn watch was just issued? florida. the national weather service issued a tornado watch for portions of central and southern florida until 7:00 p.m. eastern. now, several tornadoes and damaging winds up to 70 miles per hour are likely according to meteorologists. we'll keep an eye on that. heartbreaking details today after the dramatic rescue of three children whose mother drove their minivan into a powerful surf. florida officials say police stopped the pregnant south carolina woman hours before but they saw no reason to detain her. rescuers helped pulled her and her children to safety yesterday, as the minivan surf deeper into the ocean. police believe she drove into the water on purpose. one rescuer said one of the little boys inside shocked him. >> he said please help us our mom is trying to kill us.

when he said that, i just -- i lost all feeling. all i could think about, we're getting the kids out. >> again all the kids were out and safe. right now they're in child protective services. authorities say they're going to try to place them with family very soon. the case of marisa alexander has inspired possible changes to florida's laws regarding guns in self-defense. the florida senate has advanced a controversial bill that would grant immunity to people who fire warning shots in self-defense. the house is considering a similar bill. the legislation comes as state attorneys announced that they will seek a 60-year sentence for marisa alexander, the florida mom who was previously convicted for firing what she wall street's what warning shot at her abusive husband, she was originally sentenced to 20 years. that conviction was overturned and she's being retried this summer but state attorney angela cory now says florida law

leaves prosecutors no choice but to seek a 60-years sentence in the retrial, even though no one was hurt in the shooting and alexander's husband had a history of abuse. joining mess a reporter for "the florida times union." first let's talk about marisa alexander. help people understand why she's now looking at 60 years. >> tamron it comes babb to an appellate court ruling that occurred here in north florida. the appellate court rules that you can't sentence people to concurrent terms. she previously got three 20-years sentences to be served concurrently. she was convicted of firing a shot toward her estranged husband and his two children. the court ruled they have to be served consecutively. instead of being served all at the same time. >> let's move forward to this

legislation on the table any state's senate and state's house. what are they looking at here specifically legislatively, and will it help marisa alexander? >> well like most things with the florida legislature, it's tough to say for sure until they pass it. the idea of legislation is people who firing warning shots can't go to jail under a life which is why she's facing so much time. it's unclear if alexander will be factored into this. most laws don't become retroactive, so she may still face it until the previous law, and we should also mention prosecutors dispute the idea that she fired a warning shot the she say she was firing at her husband that the bullet hit the wall, not the ceiling, and they have argued from the shot this was not a warning shot. >> the idea of marisa alexander possibly being sentenced to 60 years in jail has sparked of people from social media to platforms i'm sure as

well locally in the paper and otherwise are calling for the removal of angela cory, all focusing their ire on her. she says she's following current law. >> that's correct. she says that it's not her office that chose to seek 60 years. they're just following the law. we should mention, however that others disagree with in a. they say you could have just charged one instead of three counts. she doesn't have to seek charges again and there's a supreme court decision that sell it's unconstitutional to sentence someone to a longer sentence in a retrial than the original trial. they say this doesn't apply here, but that's aung issue that's likely to be debated if she's convicted again. and debated along with the debate over this proposed legislation. larry, thank you so much for joining us yet again. we appreciate it. >> thank you. up next, how men should lead the charge to expand women's rights? msnbc's richard lui is here with

his new op-ed just days before international women's day. our gut check before the morning ends. should a ground zero relic in the shape of a cross be kept out of the 9/11 museum? it is our newsnation gut check. again, curious what you're going to say this morning. we'll be right back. marge: you know, there's a more enjoyable way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious, and a good source of fiber to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good!

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welcome back. we are following developing news out of washington. congressman ee elijah cummings just reacting this morning to what happened with darrell issa. we have what he said a short

time. >> they were counter productive, house republicans abandoned responsible oversight by repeatedly declining to take basic investigative steps promoting unnecessary political conflict and making false claims about the white house. last year before the committee received any documents on any of the interviewed any witnesses, chairman issa claimed on national television, i quote this was a targeting of the president's political enemies effectively and lies about it during the election year, end of quote. >> we'll have much more from congressman elijah cummings. the congressional black caucus sent a letter to speaker boehner, calling him on to remain issa as chairman of the house oversight committee. he held his daily briefing and he believes issa acted within the roles of his role as chairman. this saturday is the 106th international women's day, give

the world an opportunity to celebrate how far women have come in closing the gender gap and how far we still have to go. and many events being held across the country and around the world will focus on empowerment and awareness of social and economic issues affecting women. it does not have to be just women who take part in these events, committing themselves to pushing for gender equality. my colleague msnbc anchor richard liu writes about the role men to play in this important issue. understanding gender equality means understanding political and economic power dynamics. men control 81% of congress. we hold 95% of fortune 500 ceo titles and it's men and boys soon to be men in the driver's seat. it's us then that are obligated to help make change. my colleague richard i love what you've written here. this is like the civil rights moment for example when whiles joined in the fight down south to help or as it relates to

same-sex marriage and equality amongst gays and lesbians. people in sports have come out i'm not gay, but i support jason collins. you need the balance. >> gender equality immediately you think it's a woman's issue not a men's issue. when we hear racism we think it has to do with african-americans and not white americans that's the entire context of this discussion. men should be involved, especially given the power dynamics you described. so 70% of the seats in the state courts are held by men, they are the ones that are therefore hearing the cases that may involve gender equality issues and violence issues and have to make those decisions. awareness and obligation for men given the fact they are in these positions of power the dominant position obligates us to become involved. >> you're not running for office. >> no. >> you're still a journalist. >> yes. >> ambassador for plan international. 70 countries and you travel to

el salvador as part of a mission to talk with young girls and empower young girls. >> the idea here, tamron as you go to all of these countries what works best? when we get to their when they are younger, boys and girls they get the lessons in early. for instance because i'm a girl campaign reaching out to young boys and say, do you realize this is wrong? i spoke with one gentleman 19 years old bullied kids when he grew up. but it was often in his place it was seen as being a man. if you did not use violence with your significant other or girlfriend, you weren't a man. he learned because he got his girlfriend pregnant and realized that she as a teen mother was going to be treated wholly different than he was going to be treated as a teen boy. that's what changed him. when these programs can be applied to different countries, the united states included one in four women in their entire lives will at one point experience domestic violence, the offenders most often as you

know, men. >> richard we're so proud of the work you're doing in bringing this to the table. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> and check it out on msnbc msnbc.com, it's aa must-read. i'm tamron hall. be sure to check out the gut check, it is online. i'm going to read some of your comments tomorrow, it's regarding the ground zero cross and whether it should be allowed inside the 9/11 museum. check out richard liu's op-ed on gender quality on msnbc.com. geico motorcycle. see how much you could save.

i understand why you're booing. the only thing i don't understand is why you're booing the first person to ever come

here and told you the truth. the truth is that if we don't change these pensions you're not going to collect them. that's the truth. [ applause ] and the fact is that for each and every one of you, you may hate me now, but ten years from now, after i've made the changes that need to be made and you're collecting your pension, you'll be looking for my address on the internet to send me a thank you note for saving retirement for you and your families. the amazing thing that happened was that after i was done with those remarks, and i ended six minutes, seven minutes tops i walked off the stage and two-thirds of the audience was cheering. here's the reason why and what i want to talk to you about this morning. the fact is we've got to start talking about what we're for and not what we're against. [ applause ] and the reason for that is very,

very simple. it's exactly what i said to cpac in chicago in 2012. the reason we have to start talking about what we're for and not continuing to rail against what we're against is because of one simple reason, our ideas are better than their ideas and that's what we have to stand up for. if you need any further example of that, look at what goes on in terms of what they are for in washington, d.c. what they are for in washington d.c., the leader of the senate democrats stand up and rail against two american entrepreneurs who have built a business created jobs and created created wealth and philanthropy in this country. that's typical.